Notre-Dame Cemetery (Luxembourg) Explained

Notre-Dame Cemetery
Established:	1780
Country:	Luxembourg
Location:	Rue Nico Klopp, Limpertsberg, Luxembourg City
Size Ha:	13.9916
Owner:	Luxembourg City

The Notre-Dame Cemetery in Luxembourgish more commonly the, or "St. Nicholas Graveyard", is located in the Limpertsberg quarter of Luxembourg City. It is the largest of the 14 cemeteries and graveyards managed by the Service Cimetières of the City of Luxembourg.

History

After the Church of St. Nicholas in the city centre was torn down, and the seat of the St. Nicholas parish was transferred to the former Jesuit church (now the Cathedral), in 1779 the parish graveyard was moved outside the city walls to the Glacis. This was the origin of the name „Nikloskierfecht“.^[1] The new graveyard was on land near the Notre-Dame Chapel (German:, French:), also called the (Luxembourgish for "New Gate Chapel").^[2] This explains the official name of Notre-Dame Cemetery.

The new cemetery was essentially just an extension of a graveyard which had already existed by the chapel since 1691 and where those were buried who had been condemned to death but were not criminals, such as deserters. Two gardens were added to the old graveyard, one of which belonged to the chapel, while the other was the property of the Holy Ghost monastery.

Monuments

There are two monuments at the Notre-Dame Cemetery:

• the National Monument of the Resistance and the Deportation, or, usually simply called the "Hinzert Cross" (Luxembourgish:)
• the Monument to the Luxembourgish Unknown Legionary and the French Soldiers who died in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg in the Great War 1914-1918

Notable interments

• Mathias Adam (1850-1936)
• Léon Berchem (1897-1961), author
• Sophie de Bette^[3]
• Pierre Blanc (1872-1946), painter
• Martin Blum (1845-1924), priest and historian
• Victor Bodson (1902-1984), politician
• Melchior Bourg-Gemen (1861-1939)^[4]
• Thomas Byrne^[5]
• Pol Clemen (1861-1925)
• Pierre Clomes^[6]
• François-Charles Emmanuel Collin (1790-1851)^[7]
• Gérard Cravatte (1900-1967)
• Jules van Damme^[8]
• Gaston Diderich (1884-1946), politician
• Adolphe Eberhard (1896-1941)
• Michel Engels (1851-1901), painter^[9]
• Victor Engels (1892-1962), architect and painter
• Eydt-Funck family grave (Jean-François Eydt, Pierre Funck and Paul Funck)
• Paul Eyschen (1841-1915), politician^[10]
• Jean-Baptiste Fallize (1844-1933)
• Gaspard-Théodore-Ignace de la Fontaine (1787-1871)
• Léon de la Fontaine
• Jean-Baptiste Gellé (1777-1847)^[11]
• Therese Glaesener-Hartmann
• Willy Goergen (1867-1942)
• Bernard Graf (1831-)^[12]
• Bernard Groethuysen^[13]
• Nicolas Hemmen (1855)^[14]
• Ferdinand d'Huart (1857-1919)
• Michel Hülsemann (1885-1955), musician
• Antoine Jans (1868-1933), ceramics painter
• Joseph Junck (1839-1922)^[15]
• Auguste Klein (1866-1945)^[16]
• Alphonse Kemp (1872-1950), architect^[17]
• Jean-Pierre Ker (1900-1951), painter
• Evrard Ketten (1842-1912), horticulturalist^[18]
• Ernst Koch (1808-1858), poet
• William J. Kroll (1889-1873)
• Eugène Kurth (1868-1960)^[19]
• Guillaume Lefèvre^[20]
• Michel Lentz (1833–1893)^[21]
• Jean Logeling
• Edouard Luja
• Jean-Pierre Maeysz^[22]
• Nicolas Majerus
• Fernand Mertens (1872-1957), composer^[23]
• Metz family grave
• Léon Moulin
• Edmond Patzké (1844-1903)^[24]
• Antoine and Anne Pescatore-Feltz
• Ferdinand and Marie Joséphine Pescatore
• Charles-Auguste Praum^[25]
• Léopold Reichling
• Michel Rodange
• François Roeser^[26]
• Eugène Ruppert
• François Scheffer^[27]
• Étienne Schmit
• Charles Schmitz (1855-1907)^[28]
• Jean Schoenberg
• Nicolas Steffen Pierret (1830-1999)^[29]
• Michel Stoffel
• Joseph-Germain Strock
• Gaston Thorn
• Wilhelm Voigt (the "Captain of Köpenick")
• Jupp Wagner
• Batty Weber^[30]
• Paul Weber^[31]
• Nik Welter
• Lucien Wercollier
• Pierre Werner
• Auguste van Werveke
• Jacques Wester^[32]
• Guillaume Weydert^[33]
• Jean-Édouard Wolff (1851-1938)^[34]
• Henri Woquier (1852–1921^[35]
• Jean Worré (1816–1901)^[36]
• Jean-Antoine Zinnen^[37]
• Ernest Vander Linden
• Albert Jean-Marie Baron Keucker de Watlet

References

• Dondelinger . Patrick . 1 January 2008 . Le glacis de la forteresse de Luxembourg, lieu(e) de mémoire nationale . Hémecht . fr . 60 . 1 . 5–78.

Further reading

• Kartheiser, R. 1973. "Den Nikloskierfech". In: Die Warte. Luxembourg. - Vol. 26 (1973), No. 25 (4 October), p. [4]; No. 27 (18 October), p. [4]; No. 28 (25 October), p. [4]; No. 29 (8 November), p. [4].

External links

• Web site: 1 November 2018 . VIDEO: Nikloskierfecht: Traditioun a Geschicht vum intressanteste Stater Kierfecht . VIDEO: St. Nicholas Graveyard: Tradition and history of the most interesting graveyard of the capital . 30 January 2024 . rtl.lu . lb.
• Web site: Interesting graves in Notre-Dame Cemetery . 29 January 2024 . City of Luxembourg.

49.616°N 6.119°W

Notes and References

1. E. Feitler: Luxemburg, deine Heimatstadt. 2nd edition. Luxembourg 1954, p. 106.
2. F. Lascombes: Chronik der Stadt Luxemburg: 1684-1795. Luxembourg 1988, p. 383f.
3. Web site: Sophie De Bette . City of Luxembourg.
4. Web site: Melchior Bourg-Gemen . City of Luxembourg.
5. Web site: Thomas Byrne (Byrne-Baustert family plot) . City of Luxembourg.
6. Web site: Pierre Clomes . City of Luxembourg.
7. Web site: François-Charles Emmanuel Collin (Collin-Gindorff) . City of Luxembourg.
8. Web site: Jules Van Damme . City of Luxembourg.
9. Web site: Michel and Victor Engels (Engels-Greiveldinger family plot) . City of Luxembourg.
10. Web site: Paul Eyschen . City of Luxembourg.
11. Web site: J.B. Gellé . City of Luxembourg.
12. Web site: Bernard Graf-Ulveling . City of Luxembourg.
13. Web site: Bernhard Groethuysen and Alix Guillain . City of Luxembougr.
14. Web site: Nicolas Hemmen-Breyer . City of Luxembourg.
15. Web site: Joseph Junck . City of Luxemmbourg.
16. Web site: Auguste Klein-Demuth . City of Luxembourg.
17. Web site: Alphonse Kemp (Kemp family plot) . 31 January 2024 . City of Luxembourg.
18. Web site: Evrard Ketten . City of Luxembourg.
19. Web site: Eugène Kurth . City of Luxembourg.
20. Web site: Guillaume Lefèvre . City of Luxembourg . fr.
21. Web site: Michel Lentz . City of Luxembourg.
22. Web site: Abbé Jean-Pierre Maeysz . 31 January 2024 . City of Luxembourg.
23. Web site: Fernand Mertens . City of Luxembourg.
24. Web site: Edmond Patzké . City of Luxembourg.
25. Web site: Charles-Auguste Praum . City of Luxembourg.
26. Web site: François Roeser . City of Luxembourg.
27. Web site: François Scheffer-Seyler . City of Luxembourg.
28. Web site: Charles Schmitz . City of Luxembourg.
29. Web site: Nicolas Steffen Pierret . City of Luxembourg.
30. Web site: Batty Weber (Weber-Brugmann family plot) . City of Luxembourg.
31. Web site: Paul Weber . City of Luxembourg.
32. Web site: Dr. Jacques Wester (Wester-Pretemer family mausoleum) . City of Luxembourg.
33. Web site: Captain Guillaume Weydert . City of Luxembourg.
34. Web site: Edouard Wolff . City of Luxembourg.
35. Web site: Henri Woquier . City of Luxembourg.
36. Web site: Jean Worré . City of Luxembourg.
37. Web site: Jean-Antoine Zinnen . City of Luxembourg.